“The link between our work and our health has become even more apparent,” Murthy said. “More and more workers are concerned with making ends meet, dealing with chronic stress and struggling to balance the demands of work and personal life.”
It’s not just about mental health: Chronic stress can increase people’s risk of physical conditions like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. And when workers’ health takes a turn for the worse, that can affect productivity and ingenuity in the workplace, Murthy said in the report’s introduction.
The Office of the Surgeon General, citing the great resignation, “calm Let” Y reported depression or anxiety among American workers, he said the recommendations were aimed at taking the opportunity of the pandemic era to reexamine how we work. Murthy said the “reckoning” brought on by the pandemic should prompt employers to turn workplaces into “wellness engines.”
Here’s what you need to know about screening for toxicity and protecting your mental and physical health, and what employers need to do.
How to recognize a toxic workplace
Five qualities can predict whether people believe their workplace is toxic, based on guidance from the surgeon general: the culture is disrespectful, non-inclusive, unethical, ruthless, or abusive.
And if you think your workplace is toxic, you’re usually right, said psychologist Amy Sullivan, director of engagement and wellness at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute. “We know, as people who work in that environment, if you don’t feel safe or mentally healthy,” she said. “It really is a gut feeling.”
People can also usually confirm that “you know it when you see it” feeling with co-workers, too, since large groups may complain, said Dennis Stolle, senior director of the Association’s applied research office. American of Psychology. psychology. Stolle worked on the APA research that was cited in the surgeon general’s guide.
There are also physical red flags. Insomnia, anxiety, dry mouth, increased blood pressure, and fatigue can be some of the signs that something is wrong. It’s important to be aware of indications that the nervous system’s fight-or-flight response has been activated (a pit in the stomach, butterflies in the stomach, rapid heartbeat), Sullivan said.
People sometimes feel the symptoms more outside of work, when they get home. “They can’t relax, they can’t stop thinking about work, they can’t sleep, or they’re afraid to get up and go to work the next day,” Stolle said.
But is it a toxic workplace or just stress from the world? Stolle recommends thinking about when you feel best and when you feel worst. If work dominates your “worst” column, that’s at least part of the problem, she said.
Regardless of whether a workplace qualifies as truly toxic, many workers suffer from chronic stress, thanks to “heavy workloads, long commutes, unpredictable schedules, limited autonomy, long work hours, multiple jobs, low pay” and various other challenges said the surgeon general. .
People who struggle with negative work environments need to recognize that “it’s not them,” Sullivan said. And the more you can separate your emotions from your work, meaning your health and well-being are not “emotionally tied” to your work, the better.
If you’re feeling stressed at work, experts recommend trying some common and tried-and-true strategies, like taking a walk or briefly leaving the workplace; take a break to do something you enjoy, like a cup of coffee or tea; and talk to a trusted co-worker who may be experiencing similar issues. You can also practice mindful breathing and make lifestyle changes, such as diet or exercise. Try different things until you find the self-care practices that work for you, experts said.
Stolle tells employees to take three steps: take care of themselves, take care of their co-workers, and communicate with their bosses. Asking co-workers how they are doing and talking about stressors helps create a culture where people care about each other. And telling employers both what’s already working and what you need can start a productive dialogue, she said.
These strategies could improve your well-being inside and outside your workplace, but the responsibility for fixing the workplace culture rests with the employer, not the employees, experts said. Quick fixes like stress management programs or yoga at work will not solve a national problem.
“Wellness programs can often give the impression that we are blaming the worker, when in fact it is the workplace and the way work is organized today that is the source of the problem,” said Erin L. Kelly, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sloan School of Management, which studies work and employment. “We want to see how we can change the workplace, not just focus on changing the worker by encouraging exercise or meditation.”
What should employers do?
Surgeon General recommends five “essentials” for workplaces to ensure employee mental health and well-being: Protection from Harm, Connection and Community, Work-Life Harmony, Work Importance, and Opportunity for Growth .
The goals align with some of the top reasons American workers have left their jobs: Pew Research Center survey of people who quit in 2021 found that they reported low pay, lack of opportunities for advancement, and feeling disrespected at work as the top three issues, reported by more than half of those who quit.
The Surgeon General’s Guide lays out a framework for organizations to achieve these five “essential elements.”
Among the recommendations for employers is increasing access to paid leave and paying workers a “living wage,” which the guide did not define, though it noted that nearly a third of American workers earn less than $15 an hour. They should also offer training and mentoring, encourage inclusion and fairness, and give workers more autonomy over “how, when and where work gets done.”
Employers should view these changes as ongoing cultural change, not one-time steps that can be marked and forgotten, Stolle said.
“We need entrepreneurs to use [their] power and take action,” he said. “If we don’t have that, then change is not going to come.”
